As Tommy Lee Jones’ character sheriff Ed Tom Bell surmises in the movie classic No Country for Old Men: ‘you couldn’t make this up if you tried’.
One of the most overzealous councils in the history of the world has fined a homeowner $50,000 for not mowing his lawn – illustrating there can be a big price to pay if you don’t look after your home.
According to the New York Post, Jim Ficken of Dunedin in Florida let his grass grow and grow … and grow, and so the local council, fined him and fined him … and fined him.
After his mother died, six years ago, Ficken left town and also his mother’s house, now his, behind.
In doing so he asked a friend to cut the grass, who then also passed away.
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Council put Jim Fincken in their cross hairs. Picture: ABC News
In the two months that Ficken was away, the grass grew more than 25cm high – that’s right, about the height of your old school ruler.
This forced the city bureaucrats into action – with a fine-a-thon. Only they didn’t bother to tell Ficken that.
Upon his return, Ficken received no notice he was being fined US$500 ($833) a day.
That was only learned when he came upon a “code enforcement officer” who promised he would be getting “a big bill”.
Then came the knockout blow – a bill for $US24,454 or almost 50 large in Aussie dollars.
Then surprise, surprise the city bureaucrats whacked on another US$5,000 for ‘non-compliance’.
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The offending grass. Picture: ABC News
Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, would not have been impressed. Picture: Getty
Aussie councils are getting some ideas.
When Ficken said he didn’t have that kind of money lying around, the city council said they would take his house.
It was then things took another turn, when Ficken came across libertarian law firm, the Institute for Justice, which fights government abuse.
Institute of Justice lawyer Ari Bargill took on Ficken’s case with the argument that the $US30,000 fine violated the US Constitution’s limits on “excessive bail, fines and cruel punishments”.
However the judge ruled the fine was “not excessive”.
As Bargill told local news outlets: “If $30,000 for tall grass in Florida is not excessive, it is hard to imagine what is.”
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Councils prefer grass like this – after they have fined you.
It was then revealed Dunedin had fined its citizens a whopping $5.83m in five and a half years – Aussie councils eat your heart out.
Following the blowback from that, the Institute of Justice filed a second lawsuit and this time Dunedin said Ficken could pay less, in the form of $US10,000, to which Ficken reluctantly agreed.
So, in the end the good guys won – but the city still got its fine money, more than five years after the fines were originally levied.
“Our Founders,” says Bargil, “recognised that the ability to fine is the ability to cripple. It’s one of the ways, other than incarceration, that government can really oppress.”
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Dunedin City Hall loves a good fine. Picture ABC News.
But ISJ lawyer Ari Bargill took them to task. Picture: Supplied
Ficken was glad to put the matter to bed.
“Before the Institute of Justice came along I was just a little guy being bullied,” Fincken told ABC News.
“They were a God send because they had dealt with this issues before, they were somebody who could fight back.”
The City of Dunedin has since opened avenues through which residents can ask for reduced fines, another outcome of the case Ficken said he was happy with.
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There’s always someone else you could fine.
English (US) · 